Leh records -13.1 deg C; JK high reaches under freezing temp

Srinagar : Leh, in the frontier region of Ladakh, recorded a low of minus 13.1 degrees Celsius today with the night temperature in high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir, including the famous Pahalgam Gulmarg hill resorts, nosediving several degrees below freezing point.

The summer capital Srinagar, however, registered an improvement in the night temperature owing to the overcast sky with the mercury settling at 1.9 degrees Celsius against the previous night’s 0.9 degrees Celsius, a spokesman of the MeT department said.

Leh town recorded a dip of 8.7 degrees in the night temperature compared to yesterday’s minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while nearby Kargil town also shivered at a low of minus 11.2 degrees Celsius, he said.

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a drop of almost seven degrees in the night temperature and settled at 7 degrees Celsius.

The MeT said the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north, which experienced over 10 feet of snow this season, recorded a low of minus 6.0 degrees Celsius.

The hill resort is agog with sports activities as a large number of tourists are camping there to enjoy their holiday. The sports activity at the resort had picked up after the January 6 snowfall, which ended the nearly five-month long dry spell in the valley.

The MeT spokesman said Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, registered a slight dip in the night temperature but stayed above the freezing point.

The town on Srinagar-Jammu national highway recorded a low of 0.6 degree Celsius against yesterday’s 0.8 degrees Celsius, he said.

Kokernag, in south Kashmir, was another place where the minimum temperature settled above the freezing point at 0.7 degree Celsius, the spokesman said.

He said Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a fall of almost one degree in the night temperature which settled at minus 1.3 degrees Celsius.

The MeT said the weather is expected to remain dry in the state during the next 24 hours.

However, it predicted widespread rain or snow on February 4 and 5 owing to western disturbance which is likely to hit the state this weekend.